Economic Update – Karl Marx (1818-1883) – 02.25.18

Updates on global capitalism’s extreme inequality (Oxfam report), Victoria’s Secret’s billionaire owner, why immigration is a weapon of political distraction,” how GOP tax cut helps the rich more than others, MSU sex abuse scandal reflects “running schools like a business.” Major discussion: Marx’s life, goals of his writings, and their lasting relevance. Download this episode (right click and save)

Need to remember something? Exercise four hours later

Here’s a possible strategy to boost memory—exercise four hours after you learn something. In a study published in the July 11, 2016, Current Biology, researchers found that exercise after learning may improve your memory of the new information, but only if done in a specific time window. In the study, 72 subjects learned 90 picture-location associations—mentally linking an image with …

Chris Hedges – Pity the Children

Larry—not his real name—is 38. He is serving a 30-year sentence for murder in a New Jersey prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2032, when he will be 55. His impoverished and nightmarish childhood mirrors that of nearly all prisoners I have worked with who were convicted of violent crimes. And as governmental austerity and chronic poverty …

Do we have free will? Researchers test mechanisms involved in decision-making

Our choices seem to be freer than previously thought. Using computer-based brain experiments, researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin studied the decision-making processes involved in voluntary movements. The question was: Is it possible for people to cancel a movement once the brain has started preparing it? The conclusion the researchers reached was: Yes, up to a certain point—the ‘point of …